Houston Rockets launch 2026-27 regular season schedule

Thursday, August 13, 2026 9:09PM

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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The wait is over! The Houston Rockets announced their regular-season schedule for the 2026-27 NBA season on Tuesday.

Among the 82 regular-season games, Houston secured 21 national-television games for the upcoming season. As for holiday games, the Rockets will not play on Christmas Day, but they will play an away game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Based on the Rockets' upcoming regular season, half of Houston's home games are on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Before the regular season, Houston will have three preseason games. Kevin Durant and the Rockets will take on Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks in a pair of international games on Oct. 9 and 11 in Macao as part of the NBA's 2026 China Games. To cap off preseason, Houston will host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center on Oct. 15.

The Rockets will open the regular season at home against the Mavericks on Oct. 21. Houston's second game of the season will feature KD and company taking on the defending Western Conference champions, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, on Oct. 23 at Moody Center in Austin.

For Houston's NBA Cup games this upcoming season, their slate includes matchups against the Mavs (on Oct. 30), the Jazz (on Nov. 13), the Nuggets (on Nov. 20), and the Suns (on Nov. 25).

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As for the Rockets' roster makeup, the team will see the return of starting point guard Fred VanVleet, who was sidelined for the 2025-26 NBA season with a torn ACL. Houston also bolstered its second unit via free agency with the additions of guards Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Not to mention, the team will debut its new threads for the player uniforms, bringing a fresh look of H-Town's iconic "Ketchup and Mustard" colors. With Durant heading into Year 2 with the Rockets, the team will look to stay competitive in the loaded Western Conference.

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